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B & L ROOTENBERG - Rare Books & Manuscripts
Post Office Box 5049 – Sherman Oaks, California 91403
Telephone: [818] 788-7765
Telefax: [818] 788-8839
blroot@rootenbergbooks.com
www.rootenbergbooks.com
A SELECTION OF BOOKS EXHIBITED
AT THE CALIFORNIA INTERNATIONAL
ANTIQUARIAN BOOK FAIR
OAKLAND, FEBRUARY 6-8, 2015
Full collations, descriptions, and bibliographical details are available for all items listed
BOOTH 617
FIRST PRINTING OF THE FIRST HYPOTHESIS
ON THE WAVE THEORY OF LIGHT
1. ANGO, Pierre. L’optique divisée en trois livres: où lon démontre dune maniere aisée tout ce qui regarde 1. La
propagation & les proprietez de la lumiere. 2. La vision. 3. La figure & la disposition des verres qui servent à la
perfectionner. Paris: Estienne Michallet, 1682. 12mo. Numerous text illustrations. Contemporary full calf.
FIRST EDITION of this valuable optical treatise, of major significance because it established the outline
of a wave theory of light, based upon a manuscript written by the Jesuit scientist Ignace Gaston Pardies but
left unpublished at his death, nearly eight years in advance of Huygens’s Traite de la lumiere. The second
and third books describe the principles of vision and of colour, the means of correcting defective sight with
glasses, as well as a variety of optical instruments.
$ 3500.00
AN ALLEGORY OF HYPOCHONDRIA
2. ANNEBBIATI DA VALL’OSCURA,
Entusiasmo (pseud.). L’ipocondria composizione
anacreontica di N. N. poeta archisidereo sotto nome di
Entusiasmo Annebbiati da vall’oscura dal medesimo
dedicata agli alunni del seminario archipatetico. . .
Firenze: Appresso Pietro Gaetano Viviani, 1758.
4to. With engraved title vignette and 3 leaves of
plates. Contemporary gilt-paneled vellum.
FIRST EDITION, extremely rare, of this
allegorical poem on hypochondria. The story
follows the narrator and protagonist, Fabrizio,
through the Kingdom of Hypochondria where he
meets its queen and her entourage of gruesome
characters, a scene brought to life in the wonderful
plates. After the main poem, the author supplies his own commentary, complete with an explanation of
the rather puzzling title vignette.
$ 5500.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
RARE EDITION WITH SUPERB WOODCUTS
3. ARCHIMEDES. Αρχιμηδους παντα σωζομενα. Archimedes opera. Paris: Claude Morel, 1615. Folio.
Contemporary calf.
THE COMPLETE WORKS of Archimedes, the first edition edited by David Rivault. It contains all of
Archimedes’ monumental contributions to science: his discovery of the principle of specific gravity and
methods for calculating the centres, circle measurements, the quadrature of the parabola and spirals,
techniques of analysis, his theoretical work on mechanics and hydrostatics, an approximation of the value
of π, and his treatment of the numeration of large numbers.
$ 7500.00
SCIENTIFIC AND PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS
4. ARISTOTLE. Aristotelis stagyritae acroases physicae libri VIII. (bound with)
Aristotelis stagyritae libri de coelo IIII . . . libri de generatione II . . . libri meteororum
IIII. (bound with) Aristotelis stagyritae philosophi de anima libri III . . . de sensu &
sensato liber I; de memoria & reminiscentia liber I; de somno & viglia liber I; de
longitudine & breuitate vitae. Augsburg: Grimm & Wirsung, 1518; 1519; 1520.
Three books in one. Folio. First title page in red and black; heraldic woodcuts
on second and third titles. Final leaf, with large woodcut of Saint Catherine on
colophon, is in facsimile on contemporary paper. Old vellum.
A BEAUTIFUL EDITION of Aristotle’s scientific and philosophical writings,
the first use of the heraldic woodcuts.
$ 8500.00
GOD’S GOVERNMENT ON EARTH
5. AUGUSTINE, Aurelius Saint. Of the citie of God. With the learned comments
of Io. Lod. Vives. Englished by J[ohn] H[ealey]. London: George Eld, 1610. Folio.
Contemporary calf.
FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH. De civitate Dei influenced world history from
the middle ages to the end of the eighteenth century, and its power is still present,
for example, in international law. It was described by Voltaire as the first
contribution to a philosophy of history.
$ 12,000.00
AVOGADRO’S LAW
6. AVOGADRO, Amedeo. Fisica de’corpi ponderabili ossia
trattato della constituzione generale de’corpi. Torino: Stamperia
Reale, 1837-1841. Four volumes. 8vo. Complete with halftitles and 18 folding plates. Contemporary calf-backed marbled
boards; an exceptionally fine and clean set.
FIRST AND ONLY EDITION of Avogadro’s major work,
and the first systematic compendium of theoretical physics to be
published in Italy, including the famous hypothesis which
provided the key to distinguishing between atoms and
molecules.
$ 26,000.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
A CLASSIC IN THE HISTORY OF EMBRYOLOGY
7. BAER, Karl Ernst von. De ovi mammalium et hominis genesi epistolam ad
Academiam Imperialem Scientairum Petropolitanam. Leipzig: Leopold Voss,
1827. 4to. With half-title, corrigenda, and 1 full-page hand-colored
engraved plate. Contemporary half calf over marbled boards.
FIRST EDITION of Baer’s famous discovery of the mammalian ovum.
$ 38,000.00
INSPIRED BY THE VOYAGES OF COOK
8. BANKES, Thomas. A new and authentic system of universal
geography, antient and modern. London: Printed for C. Cooke, No. 17,
Pater-noster-Row, [1792?]. Folio. With 100 unnumbered plates
including frontispiece and 22 maps. Recent calf.
A RARE AND IMPORTANT WORK which aimed to deliver
the most accurate, impressive, and up-to-date system of universal
geography available. A sizeable portion of its contents is devoted to
the discoveries of Captain Cook, beginning with a description of
New Holland (the historic name for Australia), and includes updated
information on Botany Bay, Norfolk Island, and Port Jackson - the
first European settlement in Australia. In addition to the maps and
city views, ethnographic plates depict both exotic and familiar types,
from “The King of the Congo preparing for an Excursion” to
“Ancient English Dresses.”
$ 5000.00
“THE FIRST GENUINE AND ARTISTIC INTERPRETATION
OF THE AMERICAN LANDSCAPE”
BARTRAM, William. Travels through North and South Carolina,
Georgia, east and west Florida, the Cherokee country, the extensive
territories of the Muscogulges or Creek confederacy, and the country of
the Chactaws. Containing an account of the soil and natural
productions of those regions; together with observations on the manners
of the Indians. London: J. Johnson, 1792. 8vo. With frontispiece
portrait, folding map and 7 engraved plates. Later half morocco
and marbled boards; a very clean copy.
FIRST LONDON EDITION. An important volume that
combines an account of the author’s travels and his natural
history observations of the southeastern United States, this
work is noted by Sabin as “unequalled for the vivid
picturesqueness of its descriptions of nature, scenery, and
productions.” Based on five years of study in the Carolinas,
Georgia, and Florida, Bartram’s work includes significant commentary on the Cherokee and Creek Indian
tribes as well as descriptions of the flora, fauna, and geography of the region.
$ 6000.00
9.
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
THE FOREMOST ITALIAN MISSIONARY
OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY
10. BERNARDINUS SENENSIS. Sermones de evangelio aeterno. [Basel: Johann
Amerbach, not after 1489]. Folio. Initials rubricated in red including some large 34 line initials, hand-colored illustration of St. Bernardine. Contemporary calf over
wooden boards, blind-stamped in a floral pattern, original brass bosses and clasps,
pair of contemporary brass corner-pieces on both front and back cover, edges
stained yellow.
FIRST EDITION. Bernardinus of Siena (1380-1444), Friar Minor, missionary and
reformer, is often called the Apostle of Italy. He attracted crowds of upwards of
30,000 to listen to his sermons, which often lasted three to four hours, and
provided a sense of the customs and manners of the time.
$ 24,000.00
SCIENTIFIC METHODS APPLIED
TO THE ANCIENT ART OF DYING
11. BERTHOLLET, C[laude] L[ouis] & A[medee] B.; URE, Andrew
(trans.). Elements of the art of dying; with a description of the art of bleaching by
oxymuriatic acid. London: Printed for Thomas Tegg,
et al., 1824. Two volumes. 8vo. With 9 engravings.
Quarter calf and marbled boards; a beautiful copy.
FIRST EDITION of Ure’s translation. The
Berthollets’ work is considered the first modern book
on dying techniques and principles. $ 800.00
THE FIRST FRENCH BOOK ON NAVIGATION
WITH EARLY DESCRIPTION OF SOUTH AMERICA
12. BESSARD, Toussaint de. Dialogue, de la longitude. . . . Rouan:
Messgissier, 1574.
FIRST EDITION of this extremely rare treatise, the first work printed in
France on navigation and one of the earliest attempts to determine
longitude at sea.
$ 65,000.00
ONE OF THE EARLIEST WORKS FROM THE PRESS OF
OTTAVIANO SCOTO
13. BIBLIA LATINA. Venice: Octavianus Scotus, 31 May 1480. Chancery
4to. Exquisite illuminated initial and marginal illustration, initials throughout
rubricated with red and blue penwork decoration, some with gold leaf.
Eighteenth-century tree calf, gilt decorated-spine and borders on covers.
FIRST EDITION. All works printed by Scoto, whose press operated between
1479 and 1484, are characterized by extremely fine attention to detail and the
layout of the pages.
$ 30,000.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
IMPORTANT ASSOCIATION COPY
14. BIBLE, LATIN. Biblia cum concordantiis
Veteris et Novi Testamenti. [Strassburg: Johann
(Reinhard) Grüninger, 26 April, 1497]. Folio.
Woodcut illustration of St. Jerome at his
devotions on title. Sixteenth-century boards.
FROM THE LIBRARY OF THE GREAT
WRITER AND SCHOLAR, CESAR DE
MISSY (1703-1775), theologian, chaplain to
George II, scholar of the New Testament, and
book collector. De Missy was famous for his invaluable work in preserving
original manuscripts that enriched religious and philosophical
understanding and moral debates on the issues of the day. A complete copy
of this rare and esteemed edition of the Latin Vulgate with marginal
concordances, St. Jerome’s prefaces, and augmented by the revised alphabetical tables of Gabriel Brunus, as
well as the “Interpretationes Hebraicorum nominum.”
$ 9500.00
THE GREAT AMERICAN ATLAS
15. BLANCHARD, Rufus. Historical atlas of the United States. [Chicago]:
[T. Kane & Co.], [1876-1893]. Large folio. Illustrated throughout with color
and black and white maps, charts, and historical images. Full maroon calf.
FIRST EDITION of each of the parts of this valuable American atlas. It
includes maps of America, its territories, the Hawaiian Islands, Europe, the
world and ocean currents, and much more. Of particular interest is the map of
The Acquisition of Territory to the United States, which at the time of its
publication was the only map to correctly show the western limit of the
Louisiana Purchase as terminating on the line of the Rocky Mountains instead
of on the Pacific Coast.
$ 7500.00
MYSTICAL INTERPRETATION OF GENESIS
16. BOEHME, Jacob. Mysterium magnum. An exposition of the first book of Moses called Genesis. London:
M. Simmons for H. Blunden, 1654. Folio. Full calf in a contemporary style.
FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH of Boehme’s masterpiece. His focus on the vision of the spiritual
universe supports his detailed discussion of Genesis. This book became highly influential on generations of
mystics, especially of the English school, where societies of Behmenites were formed.
$ 6500.00
PRESENTATION COPY, PART OF A FAMOUS EXHIBIT
17. BRAGG, William Henry & BRAGG, William Lawrence. X rays and crystal structure. London:
G. Bell & Sons, 1915. 8vo. With 5 photographic plates. Original publisher’s blue cloth;
“PRESENTATION COPY” blind-stamped onto title. Bookplate laid in noting that this book was
Exhibit No. 241 in the 1951 Festival of Britain Exhibition of Books, arranged by the National Book
League at the Victoria & Albert Museum.
FIRST EDITION of the statement of Bragg’s Law by the father and son team who shared the 1915
Nobel Prize for physics “for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of x-rays.”
$ 1950.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPT FROM THE CAPTAIN OF THE SHIP MORNING STAR
18. BRAY, Capt. Isaiah. At sea, Feb. 15, 1879. 18 pp. To “Brother Hall.”
In 1878, Captain Bray, an experienced navigator and an earnest Christian, took command of the third
“Morning Star”. The voyages of each of the (five) ships named “Morning Star” were intended to bring
Christianity to the people of the Marquesas Islands and Micronesia. In this, his only letter written as
captain, he provides a summary of the voyage, having sailed a total of 14,500 miles and visited 26 different
islands, including 5 newly-discovered. He describes the people and the places visited, including Luknor
Island, Atene Island, the island of Apaiang (part of the Gilbert Islands), and the Marshall Islands.
$ 4500.00
INCLUDES THE FIRST DENTAL PHARMACOPEIA
19. BUNON, Robert. Essay sur les maladies des dents. . . . Paris: Briasson, Chaubert,
et de Hansy, 1743. 8vo. Calf-backed marbled boards; a fine copy.
FIRST EDITION. Disappointed with Fuchard’s work, Bunon was the first to perform
specialized odontological research as well as to address such issues such as the
development and care of children’s teeth, and dental hypoplasia (caused by childhood
diseases).
$ 3500.00
FORMATION OF THE EARTH
20. [BURNET, Thomas]. The theory of the earth: containing an
account of the original of the earth, and of all the general changes which
it hath already undergone, . . . The two fisrt (sic) books concerning the
deluge, and concerning paradise; An answer to the late exceptions made
by Mr Erasmus Warren; A short consideration of Mr. Erasmus
Warren’s defence of his exceptions against the theory of the earth: In a
letter to a friend; The theory of the earth . . . The two last books,
concerning the burning of the world, and concernng the new heavens and
new earth; A review of the theory of the earth. London: R. Norton
for Walter Kettilby, 1690-1691. FOUR WORKS IN ONE
(first book in two parts). Folio. Separate titles, 2 frontispieces, 2
double-page engraved plates and 13 text engravings. Moroccobacked marbled boards.
FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH of all works, except second edition in English of the first part of the first
work. This was one of the earliest attempts to present a scientific explanation of the formation and
structure of the earth. Answer to the late exceptions was intended to refute Erasmus Warren’s book Geologia
(1690) condemning Burnet’s theories.
$ 2500.00
NOBEL PRIZE WINNER
21. CARREL, Alexis & LINDBERGH, Charles A. The culture of organs.
New York: Paul Hoeber, 1938. 8vo. With 38 plates. Original cloth.
FIRST EDITION. This work describes the experimental program for the
cultivation of whole organs devised by Carrel and the celebrated aviator Charles
Lindbergh. Lindbergh’s pump enabled Carrel to keep an excised thyroid and
kidney functioning, and led to apparatus now used in heart and other surgeries.
$ 950.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
FIRST PUBLISHED MENTION OF OREGON
22. CARVER, Johnathan. Travels through the interior
parts of North-America in the years 1766, 1767, and 1768.
London: for the Author, 1778. 8vo. With 2 engraved
maps and 4 engraved plates. Contemporary calf.
FIRST EDITION. Carver’s work, a classic of
American travel, is one of the earliest and best accounts
of pre-Revolution exploration. He “penetrated farther
into the West than any other English explorer
before the Revolution” (Howes).
$ 5000.00
WITH MANUSCRIPT CORRECTIONS
23. CARROLL, Lewis [DODGSON, Charles Lutwidge].
Four mathematical pamphlets offered together, preserved in a
folding clamshell case. 1. Formulae. (Group C.). [Oxford:
c.1878]. Bifolium. Rare cyclostyled pamphlet, with Dodgson’s
manuscript corrections in his characteristic purple ink. 2.
Formulae. [Oxford]: 19 March 1878. 8vo. Cyclostyled. This
work consists of 18 formulae corresponding to the topics in
section L of the pamphlet A Guide to the Mathematical Student in
Reading, Reviewing, and Working Examples. 3. Algebraical formulae
and rules for the use of candidates for responsions. [Oxford:
University Press, 1870]. Bifolium. 4. Arithmetic. I. [Oxford:
University Press, c.1870]. Bifolium.
FIRST EDITION. Templates for 33 examination problems divided into 5 sections: integral and concrete
numbers, vulgar and decimal fractions, rule of three. Exceedingly rare.
$ 24,000.00
MENTAL RELAXATION - - A PRESENTATION COPY
24. CARROLL, Lewis [DODGSON, Charles Lutwidge]. Symbolic logic. Part I: elementary [all
published]. London & New York: Macmillan and Co., 1896. 12mo. Original publisher’s cloth over
boards; presentation inscription, “G.E. Jelf, with the Author’s sincere regards. Feb. 22, 1896.” Preserved in
a red morocco-backed slipcase and chemise.
FIRST EDITION, PRE-PUBLICATION presentation copy, inscribed by Dodgson two days before
publication. This is his early work of logic, intended to supply “for a most interesting mental recreation.”
This work anticipates his later Game of logic (1897), and introduces his inventive use of square Venn
diagrams to represent original syllogisms.
$ 9500.00
25. [CIVIL WAR]. [Speeches of United States Senators & Representatives]. 8vo. Half-sheep over marbled
boards. Presentation inscription on fly-leaf, from James B. Smallwood to the Hon. John P. Hale, U.S.
Senator, dated April 4, 1861.
FIRST PRINTINGS. Bound volume of 37 individual speeches and 1 folded broadside made between
1860 and 1861 by various elected officials, including Hon. Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, Hon. Stephen
A. Douglas, of Illinois, Hon. Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, William H. Seward, and Hon. Milton S.
Latham, of California, among many others. A complete list of all speeches is available upon request.
$ 3500.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
ONE OF THE GREATEST ADVANCES IN HUMAN THOUGHT
26. COPERNICUS, Nicolaus. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, libri VI . . . Narratio prima, per M.
Georgium Ioachimum Rheticum ad D. Ioan. Schonerum scripta. Basel: Heinrich Petri, [September, 1566].
Folio. Contemporary vellum.
SECOND EDITION of Copernicus’ epochal work, the first to propound the theory of planetary orbits.
Added here for the first time is Rheticus’ famous tract, Narratio prima, first published in 1540, containing
the actual first announcement of Copernicus’s system.
$ 180,000.00
ANATOMY FOR ARTISTS
27. COUSIN, Jean. L’art de dessiner . . . Augmente
de plusieurs figures d’apres l’antique, avec leurs mesures et
proportions; d’une description des os et des muscles du
corps humaine. . . . Paris: Chez Jean, Marchand
d’Estampes, 1821. Oblong 4to. With 33 engraved
plates. Contemporary morocco-backed marbled
boards.
Cousin’s treatise on anatomy contains many
wonderful plates illustrating the proportions of
different aspects of the body. It includes the head,
face, limbs, torso and full figures of males, females
and children. All muscles are noted and some of the
plates are depicted in perspective. $ 950.00
HENRY VIII’S DIVORCE ATTORNEY
28. [CRANMER, Thomas]. Reformatio legvm ecclesiasticarvm, ex avthoritate
primvm regis Henrici 8 inchoata: deinde per regem Edovardum 6 provecta, adauctaque
in hunc modum. . . . London: Impensis Societatis Stationariorum, 1641. 4to.
Contemporary calf.
THIRD EDITION. This work represents the single greatest effort to revise
canon law for the newly established Church of England. These reforms were
submitted to and rejected by Parliament on two occasions. It still remains an
important source for information regarding church law during one of the most
tumultuous periods of English history.
$ 950.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
TRAVEL ACCOUNT BY A “NOTORIOUS” WOMAN
29. CRAVEN, Elizabeth Lady [Margravine Anspach]. A journey through the Crimea to Constantinople.
In a series of letters from the right honourable Elizabeth Lady Craven, to his serene highness the Margrave of
Brandenbourg, Anspach, and Bareith. London: G. G. J. and J.
Robinson, 1789. 4to. Frontispiece map and 6 plates.
Contemporary marbled boards.
FIRST EDITION. As though separating from your
husband weren’t bad enough in the late nineteenth century,
reports of numerous infidelities with high ranking men
would certainly place you at the center of gossip and
scandal. Such was the case of Lady Craven, whose
indiscretions, including a ‘criminal intercourse’ with the
French Ambassador in London, made her a somewhat
notorious character in European high society. After
separating from Lord Craven in 1783, Elizabeth left her
native England and traveled extensively in France, Italy,
Vienna, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Turkey, and points in-between. The present book is an account
of these travels, published at the suggestion of her friend and admirer, Horace Walpole, in 1789. “This is
her most important work, and it exploits to the full the gossipy and self-vindicating scope of first-person
travelogue. She describes manners, customs, and landscapes, pronounces Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's
favourable account of Turkey a forgery, and constructs a self-image of redoubtable British vigour as well as
devoted and injured motherhood” (ODNB).
$ 1000.00
FOUNDATION OF MODERN METEOROLOGY
30. DALTON, John. Meteorological observations and essays. London: Printed for W. Richardson, J.
Phillips, & W. Pennington, 1793. 8vo. Contemporary calf.
FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE, containing the first tentative germs of the laws of partial pressures and
of gaseous expansion under constant pressure.
$ 3000.00
ASSOCIATION COPY WITH LETTERS
AND UNRECORDED OFFPRINT
31. DARWIN, Charles. On the origin of species by means of natural
selection. . . . London: John Murray, 1859. 8vo. Contemporary halfmorocco over marbled boards. An excellent copy inscribed by Leonard
Darwin, Charles’ son, with related material bound in at the end, including
a 2-page letter signed by Darwin, and an unrecorded offprint of a paper on
Darwin’s work.
FIRST EDITION of Darwin’s historic and pioneering work on the theory
of evolution; certainly the most important biological book ever written.
The half-title is inscribed by Leonard Darwin: This is the first edition of the
Origin -- written by my father -- containing a passage on p. 184 which he always
regretted to have omitted in later editions -- 10 April 1927.
$ 95,000.00
32. DARWIN, Charles. ALS. Down, 29 August, 1871. Single sheet, folded in half, with 2 pages
entirely in Darwin’s hand on his personal engraved stationary. Repairs where signature was cut away, and
then re-attached.
“The most convenient time for your clerk to come here tomorrow Wednesday will be by the train which leaves Charring
Cross at 5.5 or Cannon St. 5:15 arriving Orpington at 5:47, where I hope he will take a fly for the four mile drive.
A suitable train to return will be the 8:20 from Orpington. I hope these hours will not be inconvenient. I buy leave to
repeat my thanks for all your kind assistance in this affair.”
$ 4500.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
A NEWTON EXPERT
33. DESAGULIERS, J[ean] T[heophile]. A system of experimental philosophy
prov’d by mechanicks, wherein the principles and laws of physicks,
mechanicks, hydrostaticks, and opticks, are demonstrated and explained at
large, by a great number of curious experiments. . . To which is added, Sir
Isaac Newton’s colours: the description of the condensing engine, with its
apparatus: and Rowley’s Horary; a machine representing the motion of the
Moon about the Earth; Venus and Mercury about the Sun, according to the
Copernican System. London: Printed for B. Creake and J. Sackfield,
and sold by W. Mears, 1719. 4to. With 10 fine folding engraved
plates. Contemporary Cambridge binding.
FIRST EDITION of this enlarged account of Desaguliers important
mechanical lectures and experiments. He issued his Physico-mechanical
lectures in 1717 as an 80-page tract containing brief abstracts of his lectures. Some of the remarkable
accounts include “a description of the Air-Pump Mr. Boyle made use of;” different species of barometers,
thermometers, and hydrometers; and his work on Isaac Newton.
$ 6000.00
34. DOYLE, [Sir] Arthur Conan. The lost world. London: Hodder
and Stoughton, [1912]. 8vo. With frontispiece and 5 plates. Original
pictorial blue cloth.
FIRST EDITION. The present work is the first story about the
scientist Professor Challenger, in which he and his exploring party
discover a pre-historic “Lost World” of dinosaurs in South America. It
has been the model for several other books and movies which have
treated the same topic.
$ 850.00
EARLY UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY AND
CLOTHING
35. DU TEMPLE, M.L. Du scaphandre et de son emploi a
bord des navires. Paris: Arthus Bertrand [1861]. 8vo. With 1
double page and 1 folding plate. Morocco-backed marbled
boards, with the original printed wrappers bound in; an
excellent copy.
FIRST AND ONLY EDITION. While primitive
underwater breathing methods had been around for centuries,
individual suits were a vast improvement over early apparatus
such as the bell-shaped helmet. This work focuses on a very
specific type of diving suit patented by Joseph-Martin
Cabriol. Though far from safe by today’s standards, the Cabriol diving suit did represent a leap forward
with certain safety features.
$ 3500.00
FASCINATING SIXTEENTH CENTURY REMEDIES FOR GOUT AND ARTHRITIS
36. DUBOIS, Jean [SYLVIUS]. De morbi articularii curatione tractatus quatuor. . . . Antverpiae:
Christophori Plantini, 1565. 8vo. Half vellum over boards.
FIRST EDITION of this rare and early work devoted to the causes and treatments of gout and arthritis,
followed by a lecture on syphilis given by the author in Louvain on 15 December 1557 or 1558. A good
portion of the text is devoted to listing and discussing various types of meat, fish, poultry and their
relationship to gout and arthritis.
$ 3500.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
THREE OF EINSTEIN’S MOST FAMOUS PAPERS
37. EINSTEIN, Albert. “Über einer die Erzeugung und Verwandlung des Lichtes betreffenden
heuristischen Geischtspunkt.” (with) “Über die von der molekularkinetischen Theorie der Wärme
geforderte Bewegung von in ruhenden Flüssigkeiten suspendierten Teilchen.” (with) “Zur
Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper.” In Annalyn der Physik, 4. Folge, Bank. 17. Leipzig: Johann Ambrosius
Barth, 1905. 8vo. Contemporary cloth-backed marbled boards.
FIRST EDITION of arguably the most important issue of the Annalen der Physik, containing the three
papers by Einstein, one for which he won the Nobel Prize in 1921, a work on Brownian motion,
and the first statement of the special theory of relativity.
$ 15,000.00
THE FOURTH DIMENSION
38.
EINSTEIN, A., LORENTZ, H., & MINKOWSKI, H. Das
Relativitätsprinzip. Eine Sammlung von Abhandlungen. Leipzig: Teubner, 1913. 8vo.
With frontispiece portrait of Minkowski. Boards.
Sammelband containing the original papers on the special and general theories of
relativity. It is in Minkowski’s famous paper, Raum und Zeit (Space and time), that
he proposes the concept of time as the fourth dimension and initiates a
mathematical study that became the basis of the later development of the
theory.
$ 450.00
GENERAL RELATIVITY
39. EINSTEIN, Albert. Die Grundlage der allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie. Leipzig: J. A. Barth, June, 1916.
8vo. Original printed wrappers.
FIRST SEPARATE PRINTING of Einstein’s classic paper.
$ 8500.00
RELATIVITY EXPLAINED TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC
40. EINSTEIN, Albert. Relativity. The special and general theory. New York: Henry
Holt and Company, [1920]. 8vo. With an etching of Einstein dated 1920. Blue cloth.
FIRST AMERICAN EDITION, written for the average reader.
$ 950.00
BROWNIAN MOTION
41. EINSTEIN, Albert. Investigations on the theory of the Brownian movement. London: Methuen & Co.,
[1926]. 8vo. Publisher’s cloth.
FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH of six of Einstein’s works regarding Brownian motion. Einstein’s
original papers support his prediction that random motions of molecules in a liquid impacting on larger
suspended particles would result in irregular, random motions of the particles.
$ 350.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
EDITIO PRINCEPS
THE EARLIEST CONTRIBUTION
TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF MATHEMATICS
42. EUCLID. [Greek:] Elementa geometriae. Basle: Johann Herwagen, 1533.
Folio. With woodcut device on title and colophon, numerous woodcut diagrams.
Contemporary English calf.
EDITIO PRINCEPS of Euclid’s Elements, an epic-making text with the
important commentary by the Neoplatonist mathematician and philosopher
Proclus on the first book of the Elements,the earliest extant criticism of Euclid’s
fifth postulate on the existence of parallel lines. This led, after a further fifteen
hundred years of effort, to the discovery of non-Euclidean geometry by Gauss,
Bolyai and Lobachevsky.
$ 35,000.00
BOY GENIUS - EULER’S FIRST PUBLICATION
43. EULER, Leonhard. Positiones logicae miscellaneae quas . . . pro vacante cathedra logica ad d. 30. Jan. M
DCC XXII . . . publico eruditorum examini subjiciet M. Joh. Rudolphus Battierius . . . respondente . . . Leonhardo
Eulero. [Basel]: E. & J.R. Thurneisen, 1722. 4to. Contemporary marbled wrappers.
FIRST EDITION of Euler’s first publication. Just 14 years old, Euler responds to the thesis of Johann
Rudolf Battier (1693-1759), a candidate for the Basel’s vacant chair of logic. This publication is quite rare;
OCLC locates only 1 copy at Basel, and only 1 other copy is known (in a private collection).
$ 15,000.00
THE SCOURGE OF SYPHILIS – TWO EARLY DESCRIPTIONS
44. FALLOPIUS, Gabriel. De morbo galllico [sic] liber absolutissimus a Petro Angelo Agatho Materate, (eo
legente) scriptus . . . edits et scholiis marginalibus illustratus. Additus etiam est in calce de Morbo Gallico tractatus,
Antonii Fracanciani Bononiae in loco eminentis scientiae faeliciter legentis. Patauii: Lucam Bertellum;
Christophorum Gryphium, 1564; 1563. Two works in one. 4to. Half-calf with paper boards.
FIRST EDITIONS of two rare treatises on syphilis. “In this classic work on ‘the French disease,’ Fallopius
wrote more knowingly of the Europe-wide scourge of syphilis than previous authors on the subject and
was one of the first to oppose the use of mercury in its treatment.” The second treatise on the same subject
is by Fracanzano (1500?-1569), who became professor of medicine at Padua in 1539.
$ 12,000.00
COMPETITIVE SCIENTIFIC HAND
READING
45.
[GAME]. LINDSAY, Gertrude Ann.
Psychology of the hand simplified. New York: Baker &
Bennet Co., [1919]. Includes “Key to the Game,” an
explanatory manual entitled “Scientific Hand
Reading, the Science of Cheirognomy or Hand
Building Power,” 5 chromolithograph sheets
depicting the major personality types, and 10
cardboard chromolithograph sheets with die-cut hand
shapes. All pieces intact and in excellent condition.
Straddling the line between phrenology and
palmistry, scientific hand reading or “cheirognomy”
purports to reveal something about an individual’s personality and psychology based upon the unique
physical features of their hands. Each part, each finger, as well as the spaces between fingers, the palm, the
lines, they tell a story. This game allows players to “build” a hand on the hand chart provided; the one
who builds the most “perfect” hand wins.
$ 700.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
ILLUSTRATED CELESTIAL PHENOMENA
46. GARIBUS, Ioannis. De phoenomenis ostentis, ab anno
MDCXLI ad MDCL. Venetiis, Apud Iuntas, 1651. 4to.
With a beautiful title vignette, 10 full-page woodcuts, and
historiated and decorated initials throughout. Italian
blocked printed paper over boards.
FIRST EDITION of a great rarity that brings together
elements of astronomy with traditional astrology. Each of
the ten striking wood block prints depicts a celestial
phenomenon that occurred between 1641-1650, including
the year, the reigning constellation and event itself, told
through memorable emblematic visual imagery.
$ 21,500.00
CHIEF WORK ON CELESTIAL MECHANICS
47. GAUSS, Carl Friedrich. Theoria motus corporum coelestium in sectionibus conicis solem ambientium.
Hamburg: Perthes & Besser, 1809. 4to. Nineteenth-century half morocco over pebbled cloth.
FIRST EDITION, a classic of astronomy and mathematics. In this, his chief work on celestial mechanics,
he introduced the principle of curvilinear triangulation and the four formulae in spherical trigonometry
known as “Gauss’s Analogies,” by which he was able to accurately calculate and predict orbit location.
$ 4500.00
EARLIEST INVENTION OF THE TELEPHONE (?)
48. [GAUTHEY, Emiland-Marie]. Expérience sur la propagation du
son et de la voix dans des tuyaux prolongés a une grande distance, nouveau
moyen d’établir & d’obtenir une correspondance très rapide entre les lieux fort
éloignés. Philadelphia & Paris: Chez Prault, 1783. 8vo.
FIRST AND ONLY EDITION of this extraordinary monograph on
the construction and use of what is possibly the earliest invention of the
telephone. The apparatus consisted of a series of specially built acoustic
tubes, linked together over a distance of 100 feet or so. The
interlocutor would speak into the custom-built wooden mouthpiece
while the auditor placed their ear to the other end, and vice-versa, to
continue the conversation. Thus the long distance transmission of sound was first described. The invention
was presented to the Académie de Sciences in Paris, where it was well received, especially by the Marquis
de Condorcet, who was so impressed that he wrote a report on Gauthey’s description and took up a
subscription to fund the experiment on a larger scale.
$ 6500.00
FOUNDATIONAL WORKS IN GEOLOGY
49. GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. The transactions of the Geological
Society of London. London: William Phillips, 1811-1821. Five volumes. 4to. With
70 maps and plates. Full calf; a splendid copy.
FIRST EDITION of the first five volumes, the complete first series, representing
the Society’s earliest systematic publication, published from 1811 to 1856. During
this period the Transactions featured almost 350 papers by authors including Richard
Bright, James Parkinson, David Brewster, William Buckland, J.S. Henslow, John
MacCulloch and Rev. Conybear, many of which have become classics. $ 8500.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
EYE-WITNESS ACCOUNT
OF THE 1631 VESUVIUS ERUPTION
50. GIULIANI, G. Bernardino. Trattato del Monte Vesuvio e
de suoi incendi. Naples: Egidio Longo, 1632. 4to. Eighteenthcentury holograph title, frontispiece in facsimile. With 2
engraved plates. Contemporary vellum backed boards.
FIRST AND ONLY EDITION published only six months
after the great Vesuvius eruption of 1631. This treatise is one of
the earliest accounts of the natural disaster that still ranks among
the most devastating in European history.
$ 3500.00
ORIGINAL OFFPRINT OF GÖDEL’S PROOF
51. GÖDEL, Kurt. “Über formal unentscheidbare Sätze der Principia Mathematica und verwandter
Systeme I.” Offprint from Monatsheften für Mathematik und Physik, XXXVIII, Band I. Leipzig:
Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, 1931. 8vo. Original printed back wrapper (front in facsimile from the
copy owned by Princeton University, with Überreicht vom Verfasser printed on top).
FIRST EDTION OF THE FIRST PRINTING of Gödel’s Proof, the single most celebrated result in
mathematical logic. This paper, On Formally Undecidable Propositions (Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem), in
which he proved that arithmetic was incomplete, is of legendary rarity.
$ 55,000.00
GOULD’S STUNNING PARTRIDGES
52. GOULD, John. A monograph of the odontophorinæ, or partridges of America. London: Richard and John
E. Taylor for the Author, [1844]-1850. Large folio. Complete with half title, list of subscribers, and 32
magnificent hand-coloured plates. Contemporary morocco with elaborately gilt decorated spine.
FIRST EDITION of Gould’s splendid folio on the partridges of America, in which he celebrates the
unassuming game bird in a grand and sumptuous style, expertly illustrating 35 partridge species in their
natural surroundings.
$ 24,000.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
THE EXCEEDINGLY RARE PRECURSOR
TO BURTON’S ANATOMY OF MELANCHOLY
53. GRAHAME, Simion. The Anatomie of Humors. Edinburgh: Thomas Finlason, 1609. 4to. Tipped in
is a leaf with 2 pages of nineteenth-century manuscript dealing with the history of this book.
FIRST EDITION of the original printed treatise. This work, consisting of prose interspersed with verse,
describes the melancholy or humors of man. Like so many other writers on the subject, including Burton,
Grahame’s inducement was due in great part to his own depression and melancholy.
$ 45,000.00
ONE OF THE GREATEST ARGUMENTS IN SCIENCE:
THE CONTROVERSY OF THE COMETS
54. [GRASSI, Orazio]. Libra astronomica ac philosophica qua Galilaei Galilaei,
opiniones de cometis a Mario Guiducio in Florentina Academia expositae, atque in
lucem nuper editae, examinantur a Lothario Sarsio Sigensano. Perugia: Marci
Naccarini, 1619. 4to. Engraved title vignette of one of the 1618 comets in the
constellation of Libra. Antique calf in a contemporary style.
FIRST EDITION of Grassi’s extraordinarily important and bitter attack on
Galileo’s theory of the nature of comets, later inspiring Il Saggiatore.
$ 24,000.00
JUST DON’T BLOW UP THE HOUSE!
55. [GRIFFIN, John Joseph]. Chemical recreations: a series of amusing and instructive experiments, which may
be performed easily, safely, and at little expense. . . . Glasgow: Richard Griffin & Co., et al., 1824. 12mo.
With 6 plates. Original printed boards.
THIRD EDITION. After setting forth the basics of chemistry, compounds, and apparatus, it proposes a
number of experiments to illustrate various techniques and processes. For example, “Immerse a piece of
gold – a coin will do – in a glass of mercury. After a few seconds, take it out: it will be apparently
transformed into silver. Drop the silver-looking metal into a little diluted nitric acid....” Another
experiments shows how charcoal burns so brilliantly in oxygen, and how to produce carbonic acid. Make
sure you have all the ingredients before starting your experiments!
$ 550.00
ILLUSTRATING THE NOBILITY OF THE
NETHERLANDS
56.
GRIMESTON, Edward. A generall historie of the
Netherlands. With the genealogie and memorable acts of the earls of
Holland, Zeeland and West-Friseland, from Thierry of Aquitaine the
first earle, successively unto Philip the Third of Spaine: continued unto
the present yeare of our Lord 1608, out of the best authors that have
written of that subject. London: A. Islip and G. Eld., 1609. Folio.
With engraved title and 56 large text engravings. Contemporary
mottled calf.
FIRST EDITION, second issue of this elaborate work on the
Netherlands. The author details the lives, loves and politics of the
rulers and nobility in the Netherlands from the start of the
fourteenth century through 1608.
$ 2000.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE: A LADY’S TRAVEL ACCOUNT IN LETTERS
57. GUTHRIE, Maria (GUTHRIE, Matthew, Ed.). A tour, performed in the years 1795-6, through the
Taurida, or Crimea, the antient kingdom of Bosphorus, the one-powerful republic of Tauric Cherson, and all the other
countries on the north shore of the Euxine, ceded to Russia by the Peace of Kainardgi and Jassy. . . . London:
Printed by Nichols and Son, 1802. 4to. Complete with 2 folding maps, 3 full-page plates, and numerous
text illustrations. Dark green half calf with marbled boards.
FIRST EDITION of this travel account of Crimea and the Black Sea region. Guthrie’s letters include a
variety of subject matter, from anecdotes and larger-than-life personalities, to the history of the region and
its many cultural treasures.
$ 750.00
CIRCULATION IN PLANTS AND ANIMALS
58. HALES, Stephen. Vegetable staticks; or, an account of some statical experiment on the sap in
vegetables: Being an essay towards a natural history of vegetation. (offered with) Statical essays:
Containing haemastaticks, or, an account of some hydraulick and hydrostatical experiments made on the
blood and blood vessels of animals. London: Printed for W. Innys and R. Manby, and T.
Woodward, 1727; 1733. Two volumes. 8vo. With 19 plates. Contemporary paneled calf;
bookplate of Myron Prinzmetal.
FIRST EDITION of both volumes. The first is Hales’ classic on the physiology of plants, the
second his pioneering invention of the manometer, with which he was the first to measure
blood pressure. PMM, 189a; Dibner, 26; Horblit, 45a.
$ 8500.00
59. HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel. The scarlet letter. Boston: Ticknor
Reed and Fields, 1850. 8vo. Title in red and black with publisher’s ads
dated March 1, 1850 between front endpapers.
FIRST EDITION, WITH ALL FIRST ISSUE POINTS. Original blindstamped brown cloth. A superb copy, possibly re-cased and preserved in a
morocco clamshell box with a scarlet “A” applique on front cover. First
edition, first issue of one of the great classic of American literature. Printed
in a limited edition of 2500 copies.
$ 12,500.00
SHOCKING ILLUSTRATIONS OF ELEPHANTIASIS
60. HENDY, James. A treatise on the glandular disease of Barbadoes:
proving it to be seated in the lymphatic system. (bound with) A vindication of
the opinions and facts, contained in a treatise on the glandular disease of
Barbadoes. London: C. Dilly; G. Kearsley, 1784; 1789. Two volumes in
one. 8vo. With 3 full-page illustrations. Contemporary calf-backed
marbled boards; a very fine copy.
FIRST EDITIONS of these extremely rare works on medicine in the
Americas. The first is an important treatise on glandular diseases of
Barbados, a leprosy variety also known as Jambe des Barbades or “Red
evil.” It is here that Hendy correctly identifies elephantiasis, the first
separately printed English account of this disease. Five years later, Hendy
returned to the subject to report new facts and reply to various criticisms
received.
$ 8500.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR TULIPS
61. [HILL, John]. A method of producing double flowers from single, by a regular course of
culture. London: R. Baldwin, 1758. 4to. With 8 large folding engraved plates.
FIRST EDITION of this extremely rare and little known work on tulips. Hill gives a
detailed account of understanding the process of nature, as well as directions on how to
double the flowers of many plants. Though best known for his botanical works with
which he introduced the classification system of Linnaeus into England, Hill was
certainly one of the most controversial figures in eighteenth-century England.
$ 4500.00
NINETEENTH-CENTURY SPRING BREAKERS
62. HILL, Lucy A[nn]. Rhine roamings. Boston: Lee and Shepard, and New
York: Charles T. Dillingham, 1880. 8vo in-4. Frontispiece and 3 plates. Publisher’s
cloth.
FIRST AND ONLY EDITION of this rare travelogue
written by a young woman studying and traveling
throughout the Rhine valley. One of six teenagers sent
to live with the Widow von Heine, the author
describes her days spent visiting museums, churches,
gardens and other locales. Evenings were set aside for
writing letters, playing games, and general partying. Of
particular interest are her descriptions of early
architecture and the new and interesting foods that
were introduced during their travels. Of course there was some drama, as befalls teenage girls, even in the
nineteenth century. Unique, as from the perspective of a young girl away from home.
$ 450.00
SUPPLEMENT TO THE MICROGRAPHIA
63. HOOKE, Robert. Lectures and collections. . . . London: J.
Martyn, 1678. 4to. An excellent copy, crisp and clean, in modern
polished calf.
FIRST EDITION of one of the very rare volumes of the author’s
lectures. Hooke’s contributions include a discussion of the comets
visible during the 1660’s and confirmation of Leeuwenhoek’s
microscopy experiments.
$ 12,500.00
THE INTERIM PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS
64. [HOOKE, Robert, ed.]. Philosophical collections,
containing an account of the physical; anatomical, chymical,
mechanical, astronomical, optical, or other mathematical and
philosophical experiments and observations as have lately come to
the publisher hands. . . . London: [John Martyn], Moses
Pitt, and Richard Chiswell, 1679-82. Seven issues (all
published) in one volume. 4to. With 7 engraved plates.
Contemporary marbled boards.
FIRST EDITION of the complete Philosophical collections,
printed in a very small edition, and now exceptionally rare.
The death of the Royal Society’s secretary, Henry
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
Oldenburg, in 1677 interrupted the publication of the Philosophical transactions. These scientific papers,
edited by Hooke, were issued to fill the void until it resumed again in 1682. Included are contributions by
Hooke, as well as Leeuwenhoek’s announcement of the “discovery of spermatozoa”; Lana’s “flying
chariot”; Tyson’s Anatomy of a porpess (sic); and astronomical observations by Hevelius, Flamsteed, and
Cassini on the eclipse of Jupiter by the moon in 1679 and 1681. In addition, discoveries by Moxon,
Malpighi, Thomas Burnett, Edmund Halley, Bernoulli, and Leibniz are included.
$ 24,000.00
65. HUMBOLDT, Alexandre de. A geognostical essay on the superposition of rocks, in both hemispheres.
London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, 1823. 8vo. Contemporary cloth.
FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH. The present book is Humboldt’s most significant work in geology, in
which he treats the superposition of rocks, and introduces the names “Jurassique” and “Jura formation.”
$ 850.00
66. HUYGENS, Christian. Opera reliqua. (with) Opera posthuma.
Amsterdam: Janssonio-Waesbergios, 1728. Two works in one. 4to.
With 58 folding engraved plates. Contemporary calf.
FIRST EDITION. The present volumes contain Huygens’ works
on gravity and accelerated motion, the laws of elastic bodies, and the
undulatory theory of light, certainly one of his most important
achievements. Also included are his tracts on optics, instructions on
grinding lenses for telescopes, and a description of the Planetary
Automate machine he constructed portraying the movements of the
solar system.
$ 8500.00
EVERYTHING ABOUT FIREWORKS
67. JONES, Capt. [Robert]. Artificial fireworks, improved to
the modern practice, from the minutest to the highest branches. . . .
Chelmsford: Printed and sold by Meggy and Chalk, 1801. 8vo.
With 20 numbered plates. Contemporary marbled boards,
backed in green cloth.
FOURTH EDITION. Many books were printed about the
mechanics of pyrotechnic displays, but Jones’s work “is the first
book dealing exclusively with recreational fireworks in English
since Babington’s classic work of 1635, 130 years earlier”
(Philip, 78). This final edition has quite a different format from
previous incarnations.
$ 950.00
KIRWAN’S ATTACK OF HUTTON’S THEORIES
68. KIRWAN, Richard. Geological essays. London: D. Bremner, 1799. 8vo. An
uncut copy in the original boards, fantastic condition.
FIRST EDITION of Kirwan’s attempt to reconcile his geological observations
with the history of the earth as related in Genesis. The first part of the book
comprises a basic primer of geology, with a substantial amount of chemical and
mineralogical information. The final chapter contains a bitter attack on James
Hutton’s geomorphological theory.
$ 1850.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
DECIDING THE CORRECT SHAPE OF THE EARTH
69. LA CONDAMINE, [Charles Marie de]. Journal du voyage
fait par l’ordre du roi, a l’équateur, servant d’introduction historique a la
mesure des trois premiers degre’s du meridien. (offered with) Mesure des
trois premier degre’s du meridien dans l’hemisphere Austral, tirée des
observations de M.rs de l’académie royale des sciences, envoyés par le roi
pour l’équateur. Paris: De L’Imprimerie Royale, 1751. Two separate
volumes. 4to. With 6 engraved plates, including the map of Quito,
in the first work, and 3 plates in the second work. Contemporary
tree calf.
FIRST EDITION of the account of the scientific expedition to
the equator sponsored by the Academie des Sciences. $ 8500.00
FOUNDATION OF ANALYTIC MECHANICS
70. LAGRANGE, Joseph Louis. Méchanique analitique. Paris: la Veuve Desaint,
1788. 4to. Contemporary polished calf. From the library of H.C. Schumacher.
FIRST EDITION of the author’s masterpiece which laid the foundation of modern
mechanics. It contains the discovery of the general equations of motion, the first
major contribution to theoretical dynamics after Newton’s Principia.
$ 18,000.00
AN EARLY RUSSIAN VISIT TO SAN FRANCISCO
71. LANGSDORFF, G[eorg] H[einrich] von. Voyages and travels in various parts of the world, during the
years 1803, 1804, 1805, 1806, and 1807. Carlisle: Printed by George Philips, 1817. 8vo. in 4’s. Lacking
the frontispiece, but with half-titles to each part present. Later quarter calf and marbled boards.
FIRST AMERICAN EDITION (a reprint of the first English translation published in London, 1813-14).
Langsdorff accompanied Adam Johann Ritter von Krusenstern’s 1803 first Russian expedition to
circumnavigate the globe as a naturalist and physician, but parted ways with the crew in 1805 upon
reaching Kamchatka - a peninsula in far eastern Russia - continuing on to explore the Aleutian Islands and
Alaska. In 1806 he sailed from Sitka to the Spanish presidio at San Francisco. He provides detailed
descriptions of the region and of his meeting with commandant José Argüello. The visit resulted in the
famed romance between Count Nikolay Rezanov of the Russian-American Company, who had traveled
with Langsdorff, and Concepción de Argüello, the Spanish commander’s daughter, immortalized in
literature by Bret Harte, Gertrude Atherton, and others throughout the years. In addition to his
descriptions of these places, Langsdorff also includes accounts of Brazil, Japan, Hawaii and Alaska.
$ 3500.00
DISCOVERING EVIDENCE OF PRE-HISTORY
IN BIBLICAL LANDS
72. LARTET, Louis. Exploration géologique de la Mer Morte de la
Palestine et de l’Idumée. Paris: Arthus Bertrand, [ca. 1876-1877]. Folio.
With 14 plates (4 double-page and in color) and text illustrations. Later
half-morocco over marbled boards.
FIRST AND ONLY EDITION of this extremely rare work on the
geology and paleontology of the Dead Sea and its environs, considered
the most complete survey of the area’s prehistory available at the time.
Rare on the market.
$ 12,000.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
73. LAUTENSACK, Heinrich. Des Circkels unnd Richtscheyts, auch
der Perspectiva, und Proportion der Menschen und Rosse kurtze, doch
gründtliche Underweisung dess rechten Gebrauchs. . . . Frankfurt: [Georg
Raben for Sigmund Feyerabend and Heinrich Lautensack], 1564.
4to. Title in red and black. With 3 folding woodcut plates, and 107
woodcut text illustrations. Old vellum.
FIRST EDITION of this rare treatise on perspective and
draughtsmanship, important for its use by artists, architects, and
goldsmiths. The woodcuts are all the author’s original work, though
he was clearly influenced by Leonardo and Dürer. The work
contains elements of linear geometry with a more detailed
presentations of two-dimensional figures and the construction of
stereometrical bodies. Another section on human proportion owes
much to Dürer’s Vier Bucher von Menschlicher Proportion (1525) and
also includes woodcuts illustrating the proper proportions of a horse.
$ 14,500.00
THE FOUNDATION OF MODERN CHEMICAL NOMENCLATURE
74. LAVOISIER, Antoine-Laurent, et al. Méthode de nomenclature chimique,
proposée par MM. de Morveau, Lavoisier, Bertholet, et de Fourcroy. On y a joint un
nouveau systême de caractères chimiques, adaptés à cette nomenclature, par MM.
Hassenfratz & Adet. Paris: Chez Cuchet, 1787. 8vo. With half-title, 6 large
folding copperplates, and large folding table; cherub vignette on title, pages
241-56 misnumbered. Contemporary calf, gilt spine; an excellent copy from the
libraries of Arnold Thackery and Paul Broca, French physician, anatomist, and
anthropologist, with their bookplates.
FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE OF THE FIRST PRINTING, of one of
the most important works in the history of modern chemistry. Lavoisier’s
discoveries brought about a critical need to develop a new chemical
nomenclature. The result of a collaboration between Berthollet, Fourcroy, de
Morveau, Lavoisier, and others, is contained in this volume, and marks the
foundation of modern chemical nomenclature.
$ 3500.00
THE MOST IMPORTANT PHOTOGRAPHER
OF THE 19TH CENTURY
75. LE GRAY, Gustave. Noveau traité théorique et pratique de photographie sur
papier et sur verre, contenant les publications antérieures et une nouvelle méthode pour
opérer sur un papier sec restant sensible huit a dix jours. (bound after) Nouveau
traité théorique et pratique de photographie sur papier et sur verre. . . . (bound with)
Supplément au catalogue de 1846 et prix-courant contenant les appareils les plus
nouveaux de Lerebours et Secretan. Paris: Germer Baillière, etc., Juin, 1850; Paris:
Lerebours et Secretan, [1851]; [Paris: Lerebours et Secretan], Janvier, 1850.
8vo. The catalogue contains numerous illustrations of photographic and related
equipment. Contemporary half-calf and marbled boards.
THE RARE FIRST EDITION of Le Gray’s influential manual including
instructions on the preparation of waxed-paper negatives, together with the
greatly expanded second edition and a substantial catalogue of cameras and
photographic equipment from the leading retailer of the period.
$ 15,000.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
DISCOVERY OF THE PLANET NEPTUNE
76. LE VERRIER, Urbain Jean Joseph. “Sur la planète qui
produit les anomalies obervées dans le mouvement d’Uranus” in
Comptes rendus. 9 offprints or issues. 4to. All in original printed
wrappers.
FIRST EDITIONS, FIRST PRINTINGS. These publications represent
the cumulative work of Le Verrier’s prediction of the existence of the then
unknown planet Neptune, using only mathematics and astronomical
observations of the planet Uranus.
$ 7500.00
“MATERIAL OF UNQUESTIONABLE LOYALTY” TO THE NATION
77. [LOYAL PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF NEW YORK]. Tracts issued by the Loyal Publication
Society, from Feb. 1, 1863, to Feb. 1, 1864. Nos. 1 to 44; Nos. 45 to 78. New York: By the Loyal
Publication Society, 1864-65. Two volumes. Thick 8vo. With the original printed wrappers bound in.
Half-calf and cloth, calf-backed marbled boards.
FIRST EDITIONS of the complete set of pamphlets published by the Loyal Publication Society, whose
purpose was to publish and distribute material “of unquestionable loyalty throughout the United States . . .
in the army and navy, and in hospitals, thus to diffuse knowledge and stimulate a broad national patriotism,
and to aid in the suppression of the Rebellion by the extinction of its causes, and in the preservation of the
integrityof the Nation, by counteracting the efforts of the advocates of a disgraceful and disintegrating
peace.”
$ 7500.00
INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO BE A SERVANT
78. [LUCAS, Richard]. The duty of servants. . . . London: Sam. Smith, 1685. 8vo.
With an unrecorded title page, most likely a first issue. Full morocco in an antique
style.
FIRST EDITION of this noteworthy treatise describing the religious and moral
obligations of those who become servants. From responsibilities of the parents of
children who know they will choose service as a livelihood to a servant’s
responsibilities toward the children of the Master, we learn about life in service
during the seventeenth century. Perhaps most interesting is the discussion of the
relationship between servants, including those working for the same Master.
$ 5500.00
WITH A DESCRIPTION OF MOSCOW’S GREAT FIRE AND REBIRTH
79. MACMICHAEL, William. Journey from Moscow to Constantinople in the years 1817, 1818. London:
John Murray, 1819. 4to. Complete with frontispiece and
5 full page plates. Quarter calf with plain paper boards.
FIRST EDITION of this rare travel account of Russia,
Turkey, and the surrounding region. His descriptions of
Moscow are particularly interesting for his observations of
the great reconstruction following the fire of 1812
(coinciding with Napoleon’s arrival), which decimated
most of the city. Many of the iconic neoclassical buildings
that come to mind - the Kremlin and the Bolshoi to
name a few - were built during this period. The author’s
route also took him into Romania, where he provides a
wonderful description of the Court at Bucharest, then on
to Syria and the Holy Land.
$ 1850.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
TRAVEL IN PERSIA
80. [MALCOLM, Sir John]. Sketches of Persia, from the journals of a traveller
in the East. London: John Murray, 1827. Two volumes. 8vo. Contemporary
polished calf.
FIRST EDITION of Malcolm’s travels through Persia. He starts the journey
from Bombay, sailing into the Persian Gulf, arriving at Abusheher. From there
his party moves inland into the mountains, and finally reaches Shiraz and then
Persepolis. Throughout his journey, Malcolm fills this work with his
observations about the people he meets, and recounts Persian folk stories and
fables.
$ 1200.00
EFFECTS OF ELECTRICITY ON HUMAN BODIES
81. MARTIN, Benjamin. An essay on electricity: being an enquiry into
the nature, cause and properties thereof, on the principles of Sir Isaac
Newton's theory of vibrating motion, light and fire; and the various
phaenomena of forty-two capital experiments; with some observations relative
to the uses that may be made of this wonderful power of nature. Bath:
Printed for the author, 1746. 8vo. Full black morocco.
FIRST EDITION of the author’s rare essay on electrical induction
with his descriptions of a series of experiments.
$ 4000.00
REMARKABLE MATHEMATICS SAMMELBAND
82. [MATHEMATICS]. Six papers bound together. 8vo. Contemporary half-calf and marbled boards.
1. DEDEKIND, Richard. Was sind und was sollen die Zahlen. Braunschweig: Vieweg and Son, 1888.
FIRST EDITION, RARE, of Dedekind’s important work on set theory. A follow-up to his epochal 1872
publication, Stetigkeit und irrationale zahlen, which gave the first rigorous definition of the system of real
numbers and laid the foundation for much of modern day real analysis and point-set topology, he here
elaborates on his attempts “to derive a purely logical foundation for arithmetic, and devised a number of
axioms that formally and exactly represented the logical concept of whole numbers” (DSB).
2. FISCHER, Otto. Konforme abbildung sphärischer dreiecke auf einander mittelst algebraischer funktionen.
Leipzig: von Metzger & Wittig, 1885.
FIRST EDITION of the author’s thesis on conforming images of spherical triangles by means of algebraic
functions.
3. PHRAGMÉN, [Lars] E[dvard]. Über die Berechnung der einzelnen Glieder der Riemann’schen
primzahlformel. Stockholm: Kongliga vetenskaps-Akademiens Förhandlingar, 1891.
FIRST EDITION of this famous work on the calculation of the individual members of the Riemann
prime number formula.
4. NEUMANN, Carl. Ueber den Satz der virtuellen verrückungen; Ueber das princip der virtuellen oder
facultativen verrückungen. [Leipzig: von Breitkopf und Härtel, 1869].
FIRST EDITIONS of two separate papers on virtual displacements. Neumann created the second-type
boundary, which, when imposed on an ordinary or partial differential equation, specifies the value that the
derivative of a solution is to take on the boundary of the domain.
5. LERCH, M[atyáš]. Contributions à la théorie des fonctions; Addition au mémorie présenté dans la séance du
15 Octobre [Prag, 1886].
TWO SEPARATE PAPERS. FIRST PRINTINGS of Lerch’s contributions to general mathematical
functions. These papers are the first in a series dealing with the general theory of functions, the most
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
significant of which constitutes construction of continuous functions having no derivative. With a 4 page
letter containing mathematical symbols handwritten by Lerch to Karl Weierstrass tipped in.
6. MÉRAY, [Hugues Ch[arles Robert]. Théorie des radicaux fondée exclusivement sur les propriétés générales
des séries entières. Dijon, Darantiere, [1885].
FIRST EDITION of Méray’s famous work on radical theory based exclusively on the general properties
of power series. Title page in manuscript signed by Méray and dated Dijon, 1891. With annotations
throughout probably by the author for another edition.
$ 10,500.00
83. MATTIOLI, Petri Andreae. Commentarii denuo aucti in libros sex Pedacii
Dioscoridis Anazarbei de Medica Materia. (bound with) Apologia adversus amathum
lusitanum. Lyon: Gabriel Cotier, 1562. 4to. With 640 text woodcuts, some in
contemporary hand-color; an excellent copy in contemporary calf with contemporary
annotations.
THIS EDITION FROM COTERIUS was apparently the only Latin edition printed
in Lyon. The first Venetian edition was published in 1554 and contained nearly 100
fewer woodcuts.
$ 9500.00
MUSLIM LIFE IN INDIA BY AN ENGLISH WOMAN
84. MEER HASSAN ALI, Mrs. Observations on the Mussulmauns of India:
descriptive of their manners, customs, and habits, and religious opinions. . . . London:
Parbury, Allen, and Co., 1832. Two volumes. 8vo. Contemporary calf,
rebacked, gilt stamp of “Society of Writers to the Signet” on all covers. An
exceptionally clean copy.
FIRST EDITION. No mere travelogue, this fascinating and often overlooked
work is an important account of the customs, beliefs, and practices of Muslims
in India during the early nineteenth century. Written in the form of 27 letters
by an Englishwoman who spent twelve years in northern India with her
husband, an employee of the East India Company, this account challenged
many of the reigning stereotypes held by Westerners at the time. Although she
remained a Christian, the author gained intimate knowledge of the community in which she lived and
included detailed descriptions of daily life and customs, including everything from the role of charity in
Muslim culture to interactions between masters and slaves. Indeed, she even accounts on the life of Muslim
women, describing religious feasts and fasts, marriage ceremonies and that of the surroundings of a native
household.
$ 3500.00
AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHS OF CHINA
85. MENNIE, Donald. The pageant of Peking comprising sixty-six
Vandyck photogravures of Peking & environs from photographs by Donald
Mennie; with an introduction by Putnam Weale. Shanghai: A.S. Watson,
1920, [1921]. Folio. With 40 pages of text, and 66 tipped-in Vandyck
photogravures. Original blue silk cloth with Chinese cyphers. From the
library of Charles R. Crane, former United States Minister to China.
FIRST EDTION, second issue. Mennie’s marvelous images depict a
record of the city, people, sights and architecture and “evoked a
romantic vision of antique China, featuring shopkeepers, travelers,
merchants, dusty caravans, misty villages, old palaces, the Forbidden
City, and the Great Wall of China.”
$ 3000.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
LOCATING AND TESTING NEW MEDICINAL HERBS
86. MESUE, the younger (called pseudo). Mesue vita . . . Canones
universales. . . . [Lugduni, impressa per Antonium du Ry impensis Jacobi de
Giunta & sociorum], 1531. Two parts in one. 8vo. Contemporary limp vellum
with overlapping edges; contemporary annotations and underlining in text.
Generally, an unsophisticated and superbly preserved copy.
THE EXTREMELY RARE SECOND EDITION (2 copies located) of an
influential medieval Latin text about purgatives. The first part deals with the
rules of treatment in general and the second with the properties of various
drugs. Touch, taste and smell are of particular importance in order to determine
the characteristics of a drug, but color, age, durability and location of
an herb add to the overall potential. Among the numerous sections
are treatments of fever, headache, vertigo, eyesight, loss of stomach
function, thirst and many more.
$ 9500.00
DISCOVERING THE ACTUAL LENGTH OF A METER
A UNIQUE COPY
87.
MICHELSON, Albert A. “Détermination
expérimentale de la valeur du mètre en longueurs d’ondes
lumineuses.” Offprint from Travaux et mémoires du Bureau
International des Poids et Mesures, Vol XI. Paris: Gauthier-Villars
et Fils, 1894. 4to. With 2 full-page engravings and numerous
charts in the text. Half morocco and marbled boards. A unique
copy inscribed to astronomer Benjamin Apthorp Gould who
founded the Argentine National Observatory from each
member of the Comité Internationale du Poids et Measures,
with a photograph of them tipped in.
FIRST SEPARATE EDITION of this scarce work by
renowned scientist Albert Michelson, the first American Nobel
Prize winner for physics. The work describes the length of the international meter bar, which Michelson
originally measured in terms of wave-lengths of cadmium light. This copy is signed by all members of the
International Committee for Weights and Measures for Gould’s 70th birthday.
$ 1500.00
ORIGINAL COPY OF A LEGENDARY RARITY
88. MOORE, John. Columbarium: or, the pigeon-house. Being an introduction to a
natural history of tame pigeons. Giving an account of the several species known in
England, with the method of breeding them, their distempers and cures. (with) An
account of some medicines prepar’d by John Moore apothecary, at the Pestle and Mortar in
Lawrence Pountney’s Lane, the first Gates on the left hand, from Canon Street . . . with
a faithful narrative of some cures effected by them. London: J. Wilford, 1735. Two
parts in one (continuous pagination). 8vo. Contemporary speckled calf. A most
beautiful copy in superb condition.
FIRST EDITION OF AN EXTRAORDINARY AND INFLUENTIAL
RARITY - ONE OF A HANDFUL KNOWN OF THE ORIGINAL
PRINTED COPY. Complete, with the medical section of this pioneering study
of pigeons. “With a partiality usually shewn to the victor, the Hawk has engaged
the pen of many a writer: But his Prey . . . has scarce met with that” (dedication
to Sir William Stapleton, Baronet). This is the “earliest English work giving a
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
description of the different varieties of the domestic pigeon” (Casey Wood). Accordingly, Moore (d.
1737), well known for his worm powder which cures ailments including scurvy, measles, the King’s Evil,
Sciatica, cholick, and much more, is considered the pre-eminent of all pigeon fanciers. Among some of the
topics the author treats is the method of building a loft, the generation and breeding of pigeons,
identification of various types of pigeons, their diet, their usefulness and their dung. Of special interest is
his chapter on carrier pigeons. In the eighteenth and nineteenth century Moore’s treatise was copied line
by line and page by page, though loaded with errors. It was reissued with a new introduction by W.B.
Tegetmeier, the leading authority on pigeons who “introduced Darwin to the institutions of the fancy,
took him to shows, and answered numerous queries in correspondence” (ODNB).
$ 20,000.00
LANDMARK CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE
GREAT ENGLISH SCIENTISTS
89.
MOORE, Sir Jonas; PERKINS, Peter;
FLAMSTEED, John; HALLEY, Edmund. A new
systeme of the mathematicks. . . . London: A[nne] Godbid and
J[ohn] Playford 1681. Eight parts in two volumes. 4to.
With 42 plates and 2 complete volvelles in Vol. I, 61 maps
in Vol. II. Contemporary calf, rebacked. With numerous
ownership annotations, including the stamp of W. Bayly,
possibly the English astronomer who accompanied William
Wales as astronomer on Cook’s voyages.
FIRST EDITION of this extraordinary work. The first
section covers arithmetic and algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and cosmology, with six finely engraved
star charts probably by Flamsteed (whose own star atlas was not published until 1729). Chapters on
navigation, astronomy and geography follow. The engravings in this work are particularly outstanding,
depicting numerous instruments as well as wonderful maps.
$ 27,500.00
THE SECOND PRINTING OF NEWTON’S PRINCIPIA
90. NEWTON, Sir Isaac. Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica. Cambridge:
[University Press], 1713. 4to. With 1 folding plate. Contemporary blind-paneled
calf.
ONE OF ONLY 750 COPIES PRINTED, THIS SECOND EDITION of the
Principia was edited by Roger Cotes, who in his preface attacks the Cartesian
philosophy then still in vogue in the universities. Additional material was added by
Newton himself, including a second preface and an expanded chapter on the lunar
theory of comets.
$ 35,000.00
THE BASIS OF ALL SUBSEQUENT EDITIONS
91. NEWTON, Isaac. Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica . . . editio
tertia aucta & emendata. London: William & John Innys, 1726. 4to. Engraved
frontispiece portrait. Contemporary calf. From the Trinity College Library in
Dublin with its gilt arms on front cover and book label on the paste-down,
and with the large bookplate showing the award of this book to William
Andrews in 1742.
THIS THIRD EDITION was the last published during the author’s lifetime.
It contains a new preface by Newton, the restoration of Halley’s verses, and a
large number of alterations, the most important being the scholium on
fluxions, in which Leibniz’s name is omitted.
$ 19,500.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
92. NEWTON, Isaac. Opticks: or, a treatise of the reflections, refractions, inflections and colours of light.
London: W & J. Innys, 1721. 8vo. Complete with 12 folding engraved plates, woodcut diagrams in text,
errata and publisher’s ads. Contemporary calf.
THIRD EDITION, corrected. Regarded as one of the great classics of optics, this work expounds
Newton’s corpuscular or emission theory of light, and is the first work to contain his optical discoveries in
a collected form. His set of “queries” (the complete 31, up from 16 in the original edition of 1704) on the
nature of matter was considered to be the most important feature of the Opticks and had a profound
influence on scientific thought.
$ 5500.00
THE FIRST DICTIONARY OF CHEMISTRY BY AN
ENGLISHMAN
93. NICHOLSON, William. A dictionary of chemistry, exhibiting the present
state of the theory and practice of that science, its application to natural philosophy, the
processes of manufactures, metallurgy, and numerous other arts dependant on the
properties and habitudes of bodies, in the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdom. . .
London: Printed for G. G. and J. Robinson, 1795. Two volumes. 4to. With
4 copperplates. Complete with errata. Contemporary tree calf.
FIRST EDITION. This work is important for containing one of the earliest
English versions of the table of the new chemical nomenclature from the
Methode de nomenclature chimique (Paris, 1787) by Lavoisier.
$ 2000.00
THE FIRST RELIABLE ACCOUNT OF CHINA PRESENTED IN EUROPE
ENGRAVINGS BY WENCESLAUS HOLLAR
94. NIEUHOF, Johannes; OGILBY, John [trans.]. An embassy from the East-India Company of the
United Provinces to the Grand Tartar Cham Emperour of China, delivered by their excellcies [sic] Peter de Goyer, and
Jacob de Keyzer, at his imperial city of Peking. . . . London: John Macock for the Author, 1669. Folio.
Complete with all plates and blanks, including a portrait of Ogilby and an engraved title page, 2 doublepage plates, 18 full-page plates, and 121 text engravings. Contemporary sprinkled calf.
FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH. This work was the product of an embassy voyage sent to Peking at a
time when the Dutch East India Company was hoping to expand their business into Macau, a trade area
then monopolized by the Portuguese. The content is based on Nieuhof’s first-hand observations and
sketches as a steward under the command of Jacob de Keyser and Pieter de Goyer. The main work consists
of two parts, the first being an account of the embassy itself and the second being an important repository
of information about China in general.
$ 22,000.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
PROPHETIC
95. NOSTRADAMUS. The true prophecies or prognostications of Michael
Nostradamus, physician to Henry II, Francis II, and Charles IX, Kings of France, and
one of the best astronomers that ever were. A work full of curiosity and learning.
London: Thomas Ratcliffe, and Nathaniel Thompson, 1672. Folio. Lacking
frontispiece portrait as in many copies. Contemporary calf.
FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH of the book of prophecies of Nostradamus.
Each quatrain (4-line poem) is a prediction of future events, which
Nostradamus claimed was based upon astrological assessment of the quality of
an occurrence. Most deal with disasters, such as plagues, earthquakes, wars,
floods, invasions, murders, droughts, and battles. Nostradamus has been
credited with predicting numerous events in world history, from the Great Fire
of London, and the rise of Napoleon and Hitler, to the September 11 attacks
on the World Trade Center.
$ 4500.00
THE STANDARD MEDICAL TEXT FOR STUDENTS AND PRACTITIONERS
96. OSLER, William. The principles and practice of medicine. Designed for the use of practitioners and students of
medicine. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1893. 8vo. Sturdy black buckram. An excellent copy
from the library of Herbert Charles Moffitt (1867-1950), former dean of the medical school at the
University of California, San Francisco, and stamps of the Meninger Clinic Library.
FIRST EDITION, third printing. Osler’s textbook was the best English work on medicine of its time. It
provided a systemized approach to internal medicine as well as relevant information from the great
advances in the laboratory sciences, particularly bacteriology. The chapters describe specific diseases by
systems, a pattern since followed by most textbooks.
$ 950.00
97. PARISH, Elijah. Sacred geography: or, a gazetteer of the Bible. Boston: Samuel T. Armstrong, 1813.
8vo. With 2 pages of recommendations (testimonials) and 4-page list of subscribers. Folding map of the
“principal countries mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures” (torn at crease). Contemporary calf; actually a
very good copy of a book normally found in precarious condition.
FIRST EDITION of a wonderful reference to geographical localities mentioned in the Scriptures. In
alphabetical order, the work describes countries, kingdoms, nations and tribes with villages, towns, cities,
provinces, hills, mountains, rivers, lakes, seas and islands. The author includes an account of the religion,
government, population, fulfillment of prophecies and conditions of the most important places.
$ 250.00
THE EARLIEST SYSTEMATIC WORK ON FOSSILS
98.
PARKINSON, James. Organic remains of a former world. An
examination of the mineralized remains of the vegetables and animals of the
antediluvian world; generally termed extraneous fossils. London: J. Robinson,
etc., 1804, 1808, 1811. Three volumes. 4to. With frontispiece in each
volume plus 50 hand-colored engraved plates. Volume III includes a list of
references to the Memoirs of both Cuvier and Lamarck. Contemporary
calf.
FIRST EDITION. Among many other areas, Parkinson includes a short
history of paleontology, introduces the Linnean method of nomenclature to
the field, and provides information on the use of amber, jet and silicified
woods in the lapidary arts.
$ 5500.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
99. PIUS II, PONT. MAX (formerly Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini).
Epistolae familiares. De Duobus amantibus euryalo et Lucretia. Descriptio urbis
Viennesis. Nuremberg: Anton Koberger, 17 July 1486. 4to. Exquisite large
initial in green, red and blue with gilt background, rubricated initials
throughout. Contemporary calf, original clasps present, blind-stamped images
of Jesus (front cover) and Mary (rear cover) in oval cartouches; interesting
small early red stamps on verso of first blank, last leaf and rear paste-down,
contemporary annotations throughout. A wonderful copy.
SECOND KOBERGER EDITION (first 1481). The letters addressed to
friends and some short essays formed a collection of great popularity in the late fifteenth century.
Piccolomini, or Pius II (1405-1464), the “Humanist Pope” was extremely well known, and his lively
writings on a great variety of subjects, often secular, found a broad readership. Koberger (ca. 1440-1513)
was a German printer who established the first press in Nuremberg in 1470. Interestingly, Koberger was
Albrecht Dürer’s godfather.
$ 12,500.00
THE PHYSICS OF MOSES
100. PLUCHE, Abbé [Noël Antoine]. The history of the
heavens, considered according to the notions of the poets and
philosophers, compared with the doctrines of Moses. London: J.
Osborn, 1740. Two volumes. 8vo. Frontispiece to each volume
plus 23 full-page plates. Contemporary polished calf.
FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH of Histoire du ciel consideré selon
les idées des poëts, des philosophes, et de Moïse (Paris, 1739), a rare
and interesting treatise on the perception, both ancient and
modern, of the universe, the creation, and the superiority of
Moses’ cosmogony. In attempting to make modern science
conform to Genesis, Pluche basically refutes the entire range of
speculation on the origin of the world which conflicts with
Mosaic cosmogony. He even includes an in-depth discussion of
Newton’s work.
$ 1750.00
AN ENGLISHMAN GOES EAST
101. POCOCKE, Richard. A description of the east and some other countries.
London: Printed for the Author, 1743-1745. Three volumes in two. Folio.
Complete with a total of 178 numbered plates (excluding number 33, which
was never issued). Several of which are folding. As in other extant copies,
plate 76 is included in volume I but not recorded in the contents.
Contemporary crushed russia. Gilt arms and motto of the Earl of Cawdor,
most likely John Frederick Campbell (1790-1860), in center of all four
covers.
FIRST EDITION. This extraordinarily beautiful and elaborately illustrated
two volume set records the author’s extensive journey to the Near East and
Europe between 1737-1741. Volume I is devoted almost entirely to Egypt,
while the second volume explores Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, Cyprus,
and Candia (now Crete), as well as other regions of Western Europe. Like
many illustrated travel accounts, the set includes several maps, but also
provides important pictorial and textual descriptions of major archaeological
and culturally significant sites. Many of the places visited and described by
Pococke in this work were still considered quite exotic at the time.
$ 12,500.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
HISTOLOGY OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
RAMÓN Y CAJAL, Santiago. Textura del sistema nervioso del
hombre y de los vertebrados: estudios sobre el plan estructural y
composicion histologica de los centros nerviosos adicionados de
consideraciones fisiologicas fundadas en los nuevos descumbrimentos.
Madrid: Moya, 1899-1904. Two volumes. 8vo. With
hundreds of text illustrations from the author’s drawings.
Contemporary morocco-backed marbled boards.
FIRST EDITION. One of the greatest works in the
neurosciences, printed by subscription in an edition of only
800 copies. It is here that Cajal laid the cytological and
histological foundations of modern neurology. His
investigations confirmed the neuron doctrine first proposed by
His and Forel, that dendrites receive impulses from other cells, the distinct
functional pathways, the synapse, and included an authoritative description of the cerebral cortex leading
to cytoarchitectonics.
$ 18,500.00
102.
PRESENTATION COPY
103.
RAMÓN Y CAJAL, Santiago; SÁNCHEZ, Domingo.
“Contribucion al conocimiento de los centros nerviosos de los insectos.” Offprint
from Trabajos del Laboratorio de Investigaciones biologicas de la Universidad de Madrid,
XIII, 1915. Madrid: Imprenta de Hijos de Nicolas Moya, 1915. 8vo. With
numerous text illustrations and 2 folding color plates. Original printed wrappers.
FIRST EDITION, first printing, of this rare work by the father of neuroscience.
A collaboration between Cajal and his brilliant student and colleague, Domingo
Sánchez, they here examine the central nervous system of insects with particular
attention to the retina and optic center of the brain.
$ 3500.00
TESTIMONIALS BY WALPOLE, LORD CHESTERFIELD, AND OTHERS
104. ROBERTSON, William. The history of Scotland, during the reigns of Queen Mary and of King James
VI. Till his accession to the crown of England. With a review of the Scotch history previous to that period; and an
appendix containing original papers. London: A. Millar, 1759. Two volumes in one. 4to. Complete with all
blanks, errata and publisher’s advertisements. Contemporary calf.
FIRST EDITION of what is considered to be the best and certainly the most popular account of the
history of Scotland up to the beginning of the seventeenth century.
$ 1200.00
ORIGINAL OFFPRINTS
OF THE INVENTION OF X-RAYS
105. RÖNTGEN, Wilhelm Konrad. Eine neue Art von Strahlen.
8vo. Original printed yellow wrappers, with the ownership
signature of Dr. H. Michaelis (?) on front wrapper. (offered with)
Eine neue Art von Strahlen. II. Mittheilung (Fortsetzung und Schluss).
8vo. Original orange printed wrappers. Two separate papers.
Original offprints from Sitzungs-Berichten der Physikalisch-medicinischen.
Preserved in a folding clamshell box. Würzburg: Stahel, 1895; 1896.
FIRST EDITION of the first published reports on the sensational
discovery of X-rays -- a form of light invisible to the eye which had
never before been observed. Röntgen was awarded the first Nobel Prize in physics in 1901.
$ 25,000.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
ILLUSTRATING FIREFIGHTERS AND THEIR EQUIPMENT
106. ROVIRA Y TRIAS (Antoni). Tratado de la estincion de
incendios. Barcelona: Imprenta de la Publicidad, 1856. 4to. Complete
with 14 folding plates. Contemporary calf-backed boards. Presentation
to Mariano Lopez from A. Rovira, the author’s son.
FIRST EDITION of this historic treatise devoted to extinguishing fires
and the job of a firefighter, the first work on the subject to be
published in Spain. The author describes in detail the organization and
administrative side of firefighting, as well as the physical training,
equipment, and maneuvers used by firefighters to save victims from
blazes.
$ 3500.00
MAGNIFICENT ANATOMY FOR ARTISTS
107. SALVAGE, Jean-Galbert. Anatomie du gladiateur combattant,
applicable aux beaux arts, ou traité des os, des muscles, du mécanisme des
mouvemens, des proportions et des caractéres humain. Paris: Chez l’Auteur,
de l’Imprimerie de Mame, 1812. Royal Folio. Frontispiece and 21
large copperplates, 16 printed in red and black. Contemporary
quarter-calf and marbled boards.
FIRST EDITION of this rare and beautiful anatomy which uses
several well-known classical sculptures for subjects. The plates are
color coded with the muscles in red ink and the bones in black ink.
The text includes a detailed treatise on osteology and myology,
mechanics of muscular motion, and proportions of the adult and
child’s body.
$ 6000.00
SAUSSURE’S FAMOUS ESSAIS TOGETHER WITH HIS DÉFENSE
108. SAUSSURE, Horace-Bénédict de. Essais sur l’hygrométrie. Neuchatel: S. Fauche, 1783. 8vo.
Engraved title vignettes and headpieces, 2 folding plates and 11 tables (8 folding). Half-calf over boards.
(offered with) Défense de l’hygrometre à cheveu, pour servir de supplément aux Essais sur l’hygrométrie. Geneva;
Barde, Manget & Compagnie, 1788. 8vo. With full-page plate illustrating the hygrometer. Marbled
wrappers. Two separate works.
FIRST EDITIONS. Saussure conducted extensive investigations on the vapor pressure of water at various
temperatures, using human hair as a hygrometric element. His four Essais contain the results of his
demonstrations, including the famous experiment on the role of water vapor in the atmosphere. In the
Défense, Saussure remarks that the only physicists who had attacked his Essais were inventors of
hygrometers that differed from his.
$ 1800.00
MEDICAL EMBLEM BOOK
109. SCARLATTINI, Ottavio. Homo et ejus partes figuratus & symbolicus,
anatomicus, rationalis, moralis, mysticus, politicus, & legalis, collectus et explicatus cum
figuris. . . . Augsburg and Dilingae: Augustae Vindelicorum & Joannis Caspari
Bencard, 1695. Two volumes in one. Folio. With frontispiece and 42 exquisite
emblematic copper engravings. Wonderful contemporary rolled pigskin over
thick boards, clasps present.
FIRST LATIN EDITION from the original Italian of 1683-1684. Scarlattini’s
masterpiece is a tour-de-force compendium fusing emblematic and occult
knowledge with a treatise on human anatomy and physiology. He interprets
human anatomy through a dizzying array of sources, including information on
symbolism, history, rites, proverbs, and much more.
$ 6000.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
MONUMENTAL WORK OF SCIENCE, RELIGION AND ART
110. SCHEUCHZER, Johann Jakob. Physica sacrae. Iconibus Aeneis illustrata procurante & sumtus
suppeditante Johanne Andrea Pfeffel, Augustano, Sacrae Caesareae Majestatis Chalcographo aulico. Augsburg &
Ulm: [Christian Ulrich Wagner], 1731-1735. Four volumes in five. Folio. Complete with 784 full-page
plates. Bound in recent full calf; interior is generally superb on very thick paper.
FIRST EDITION of Scheuchzer’s monumental work of natural history and scientific interpretation of the
Bible. His aim was to prove the existence of God through science. This extraordinary work is famous for
its elaborate illustrations, in which each biblical story was framed with an architectural border containing
details relevant to the chapter depicted. A work of great beauty.
$ 25,000.00
SUCCESSFUL EARLY COMPUTER
111. [SCHEUTZ, Georg & Edvard]. “The Swedish tabulating
machine of G. & E. Schutz.” In Annals of the Dudley Observatory.
Albany: Weed, Parsons and Company, 1866; The Argus Company,
1871. Two volumes. 8vo. With 13 full-page plates. Original
publisher’s cloth. Also included is an original photograph of the
Olcott Meridian Circle, a telescope ordered and installed at the
Dudley Observatory in 1860, laid into Volume I.
FIRST EDITIONS. The Scheutzes were the first to construct a
working difference engine capable of producing printed
mathematical tables, based upon Charles Babbage’s design for his
famous Difference Engine No. 1. The Dudley Observatory in Albany, New York, purchased the second
of the three machines built by Scheutz; it was later acquired by the Smithsonian.
$ 4500.00
AN EPOCH-MAKING BOOK IN MEDICAL LITERATURE
112. SEMMELWEIS, Ignaz Philipp. Die Aetiologie, der Begriff und die Prophylaxis des Kindbettfiebers.
Pest, Vienna, und Leipzig: C.A. Hartleben, 1861. 8vo. Contemporary cloth-backed marbled boards.
FIRST EDITION OF ONE OF THE RAREST OF THE GREAT BOOKS IN MEDICINE. Few
copies of this work have survived and ours is notable for being in excellent condition. Despite providing
evidence that diseases are spread by physicians attending pregnant women, and that there was a significant
decline in mortality rates if they simply washed their hands, Semmelweis’ theory was violently rejected and
resisted by the obstetritians of the day.
$ 40,000.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
FROM THE LEADING EXPERT ON SOUND RECORDING TECHNOLOGY
113. SEYMOUR, Henry Albert. The reproduction of sound. London: Tattersall, [1918]. 8vo. With
frontispiece portrait of Seymour and numerous text illustrations. Original publisher’s green cloth.
FIRST EDITION. In a world where the ability to record and play back sound is as easy as pressing a
button, one can only imagine how magical the original technology must have seemed at the time of its
inception. Here the author describes the various methods and products that enabled the capture and
reproduction of sound, including making blanks, the pressing of disc records, and a fascinating chapter on
“recording sound by agency of light,” a new system that proposed using photography to make
recordings.
$ 750.00
ONE OF THE MOST ATTRACTIVELY ILLUSTRATED OF
KEULEMANS’ WORKS
114. SHELLEY, George Ernest. A monograph of the Nectariniidae, or family of
Sun-Birds. London: published by the author, 1876-1880. 4to. With 121 handcolored lithographic plates by J.G. Keuelmans. Half-crushed morocco.
FIRST EDITION, limited to 250 copies. “An excellent monograph of an
interesting family of birds, with descriptions in Latin and English, critical notes,
and discussions of habits, etc., from accounts by many different observers. A
total of 138 species of the group are recognized” (Zimmer).
$ 24,000.00
KABBALIC INTERPRETATION OF THE UNIVERSE AND ITS CREATION
115. STEEB, Johannes Christophorus. Coelum sephiroticum, hebraeorum, per
portas intelligentiae, Moysi revelatas interiores naturalium rerum characteres abditosque
recessus manifestans, ex vetustissima Hebraica veritate medicinae, chymiae, astronomiae,
astrologiae, botanicae, zoologiae, anthrolopogiae, aliarumque scientiarum nova principia. . . .
Moguntiae [Mainz]: Sumptibus Ludovicii Bourgeat, Typis Chistophori Kuchleri,
1679. Folio. With large printer’s device on title, 1 full page plate, and 19 text
engravings. Bound in an old vellum Hebrew manuscript.
FIRST EDITION of this wonderful treatise on natural philosophy based upon an
occult interpretation of the seven days of creation. According to Thorndike, this
work purports “to derive new principles of medicine, chemistry, astronomy,
astrology, botany, zoology, anthropology and other sciences from the most ancient
Hebraic truth through the gates of intelligence revealed to Moses.” The author’s
interest in celestial spheres, the creation of the earth, and the synthesis of several
branches of science, religion, and the occult necessitated the invention of an array of unusual
pseudoscientific diagrams shown here to elucidate the text of his ambitious treatise.
$ 8500.00
ILLUSTRATED EMERGENCY MEDICINE
116. TAMBA GENTOKU. Kokesai kyuho (Emergency remedies for the
benefit of the people). Kyoto, 1789-90. Three volumes. With nearly 150
woodblock illustrations. Original wrappers with printed labels.
PROBABLY ONE OF THE EARLIEST ILLUSTRATED ACCOUNTS
of Japanese medicine, compiled by the famous court physician Tamba
Gentoku, also known as Taki Angen. The work is intended to promulgate
medical knowledge among the common people, describing how to remedy
maladies of various kinds without the aide of a physician. The illustrations,
many botanical in nature, cover every phase of emergency treatment,
including revival of the drowned or intoxicated by artificial respiration and
treatment by massage. Of particular interest is an illustration of the most
famous of all moxa spots (“sanri”), located on the antero-lateral aspect of the
(left) leg, with detailed directions on how to “know” it.
$ 5500.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
ON ASTRONOMY AND TIME
117.
THEODORICUS [Dietrich], Sebastian. Novae qvestiones
sphaerae, hoc est, de circvlis coelestibvs, et primo mobili, in gratiam studiosae
iuuentutis scriptae. Wittenberg: Johannes Crato, 1564. (bound with)
GARCAEUS [Gartze], Johannes. Primus tractatvs brevis et vtilitis de
tempore, con scriptus in gratium studiosorum. Wittenberg: Johannes Crato,
1563. With 11 folding tables. Two works in one. 8vo. Contemporary
vellum from an early fifteenth-century manuscript; contemporary
annotations.
I. FIRST EDITION. This introduction to astronomy by the Wittenberg
professor of mathematics, written in the form of a series of questions and
answers, became the standard astronomy text for German universities.
II: FIRST EDITION of Garcaeus’ first treatise on time measurement. The
author here correlates the time measurements of the ancients (Egyptians,
Greeks, Romans, etc.) with the contemporary Julian calendar utilizing various astronomical measurements,
including lunar and solar cycles, rise and fall of fixed stars, and the movements of the planets. Works of
considerable importance.
$ 13,500.00
ELECTROMAGNETIC THEORY OF LIGHT
118. [THOMSON, William] LORD KELVIN, 1st Baron Kelvin. Baltimore lectures on molecular
dynamics and the wave theory of light founded on Mr. A. S. Hathawaay’s stenographic report of twenty lectures
delivered in Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, in October 1884; followed by twelve appendices on allied subjects.
London: C.J. Clay and Sons, 1904. 8vo. Numerous text illustrations throughout. Original cloth.
FIRST EDITION of these series of lectures in which Lord Kelvin attempts to formulate a physical model
for the aether, an extremely valuable medium that would support the electromagnetic waves that were
becoming increasingly import to the explanation of radiative phenomena.
$ 450.00
SCIENTIFIC WORK FROM THE CHISWICK PRESS
119. THOMPSON, Silvanus. Epistle of Peter Peregrinus concerning the
magnet. [London: Chiswick Press, C. Whittingham and Co., 1902]. 4to.
Printed on hand-made paper in red and black, initials rubricated in red. With
illustrations of instruments and their descriptions printed in red. Original
linen-backed gray boards; bookplate of Sir Edward Bullard (1907-1980),
noted English geophysicist, one of the founders of modern marine
geophysics.
NUMBER 127 OF A LIMITED EDITION OF 240 COPIES privately
printed in Caxton type by Charles Whittingham at the Chiswick Press.
Translated into English from the Latin by Thompson, this was one of the
earliest works on the magnet, originally written in 1269.
$ 950.00
FOUNDING OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE
120. [UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT]. United States Tax Law of 1862. Albany: Weed, Parsons
& Co., 1862. 8vo. Original green printed wrappers.
RARE FIRST PRINTING of the Albany Evening Journal edition, one of the first (if not the first)
announcements. The Office of the Commission of Internal Revenue was created because of the mounting
public debt caused by the Civil War.
$ 2000.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
DEATH ANNOUNCEMENTS
121. VAN DER AA, L. Lettres de décès. Brussels: Van Der AA, [ca. 1937]. Folio. Printer’s sample book
with 43 tipped-in examples of funereal and memorial letters dated between 1898 and 1937.
RARE COLLECTION of interesting examples of letters of condolence and sympathy to send to the
bereaved. When the family of a deceased wanted something more than placing the same old notice in the
obituary pages of the local newspaper, they sent out formal printed letters of their loss, such as those found
here.
$ 1800.00
ILLUSTRATED MEDICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS
122. [VETERINARY MEDICINE]. Viehartznei. Erziehung, Gbrauch,
Lernung, Artznei in zûfelligen vnd natürlichen Kranckheyten, aller zahmen, dem
menschen gebräuchlichen, vnd geheymen Thier vnd viehs. Frankfurt: Christian
Egenolff [1535]. 4to. Woodcuts by Hans Weiditz depict a charming stockyard
scene on the title page, and a trio of men with a horse on the first leaf (two of
the three men have their eyes gouged out, presumably by a previous owner),
plus 16 additional smaller text woodcuts of animals. Later vellum.
THIS RARE TREATISE on veterinary medicine is distinguished for being
the FIRST ILLUSTRATED EDITION from the 1530 printing. Much of the
text is focused on equestrian care and medicine, with information on treating a
variety of maladies including equine cancer and gallbladder disease. The latter
part of the treatise explains the husbandry and medical treatment of other
livestock, treating mules, donkeys, oxen, sheep, pigs, dogs and birds, along with a short section on
apiculture.
$ 12,500.00
THE EARTH BEFORE THE FLOOD
123. WARREN, Erasmus. Geologia: or, a discourse
concerning the Earth before the Deluge. Wherein the form and
properties ascribed to it, in a book intituled The Theory of the
Earth, are excepted against: and it is made appear, that the
dissolution of that Earth was not the cause of the universal
flood. Also a new explication of that flood is attempted.
London: R. Chiswell, 1690. 4to. With 4 text engravings.
Half calf and marbled boards.
FIRST EDITION. This scarce treatise refutes Burnet’s
theory of the formation of the Earth, and contains an
interesting explanation on the state of metals and
minerals before the flood. According to Woodard, this
book contains the earliest published reference to geology
in England.
$ 2500.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
THE RISE AND DECLINE OF THE SPANISH EMPIRE
124. WATSON, Robert. The history of the reign of Philip the Third, King of Spain. Dublin: Price,
Whitestone, Watson, etc., 1783. 8vo. Contemporary calf.
FIRST DUBLIN EDITION, printed the same year as the first London edition. Divided into six books,
the first deals with the life of Philip, with the remainder describing the various wars and the political state
of Spain, its allies and enemies, during Philip’s reign, from 1598-1621. A significant focus of the history
recounts Spain’s internal politics, including the expulsion of the Moriscos.
$ 650.00
“AN ALMOST UNEXPLORED COUNTRY”
125. WHELER, George. A journey into Greece. London: William Cademan,
Robert Kettlewell, and Awnsham Churchill, 1682. 4to. With 5 full-page
plates, a large folding map, and numerous text engravings. Modern quarter
morocco and boards.
FIRST EDITION of this impressive and important account of the author’s
travels through Greece and what is now Turkey, a work that possessed “the
charm and value of a journey into an almost unexplored country” (DNB). The volume includes
descriptions of Venice, Constantinople, Anatolia, Athens, Attica, Corinth, and many other locales. More
than a simple travel narrative, Wheler also gives precise descriptions of what he encountered and collected,
incorporating beautiful images of coins, monuments, cities, plants, and animals.
$ 4500.00
DEFINING THE CONCEPT OF SCIENCE IN THE VICTORIAN ERA
126. WHEWELL, William. The philosophy of the inductive sciences, founded upon their history. London:
John W. Parker; Cambridge: J. & J. J. Deighton, 1840. Two volumes. 8vo. Large folding plate (“Inductive
Table of Astronomy”) in Volume II. Full contemporary calf.
FIRST EDITION of Whewell’s most important contribution in which he attempts to map, define, and
systematize the development of the sciences in the Victorian era, an important period in which sciences
became both professionalized and popularized. While his previous work, History of the inductive sciences
(1837) traced how each branch of the sciences had evolved since antiquity, Whewell viewed the Philosophy
as the “moral” of the previous work. He includes his views of induction, confirmation, and necessary
truth, as well as his explanation of the relation between scientific practice, history of science, and moral
philosophy.
$ 1800.00
BEST DEFENSE AGAINST THE DISTURBING IMPLICATIONS OF EVOLUTION
127. WHEWELL, William. Indications of the creator. Extracts, bearing upon theology, from the history and the
philosophy of the inductive sciences. London: John W. Parker, 1845. 8vo. Cloth, title in gilt on spine.
FIRST EDITION. This was the first fully engaged response from the Anglican establishment to the
publication of Chamber’s Vestiges of the natural history of creation (London, 1844).
$ 950.00
THE STANDARD OF AMERICAN LITERATURE
128. WHITMAN, Walt. Leaves of grass. Brooklyn: [Printed for the Author],
1855. Folio. Engraved frontispiece portrait. Original green cloth mounted onto
boards, gilt-lettered and decorated in blind on front and back covers within a
triple gilt rule, gilt-lettered and decorated spine (rear cover in remarkable
facsimile); very minor spotting on endpapers, otherwise an excellent bright copy.
FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE BINDING (BAL’s and Myerson’s Binding
A), first state of the frontispiece portrait (on heavy paper), second state of the
copyright page as usual, second state of p. iv. “Always the champion of the
common man, Whitman is both the poet and the prophet of democracy”
(PMM).
$ 95,000.00
B & L ROOTENBERG - Fine & Rare Books & Manuscripts
BEAUTIFUL MINIATURE PAINTINGS
PRINTED IN MONOTYPE
129. WIGHT, Henry A. [Development of the
universe. From Creation to the Great Calm]. New
York, 1923. 6 ½ x 5 inches (page size); 3 x 2
inches of image size surrounded by 4 x 3 ¼ double
decorative border. Each of the 24 miniature
paintings with decorative separate title page. The
16 pages of printing contain quotations and poems
from Blake, Tennyson and Goethe, Amaranth &
Asphodel, and songs all finely decorated. Original
calf, bound for the author’s wife.
UNIQUE WORK of 24 miniature paintings by
the artist and poet Henry Wight, who found the
medium of monotype to express his creativity and
spiritualism. The author conveys ideas mysterious
and charming, much in the manner of the great
visionary painter William Blake. The pattern of his work follows closely to the development of the
universe. Barren rock and earth, water, trees with vibrant foliage and then animal forms such as birds and
beasts inhabiting the new world. Human forms draped at first then the pure undraped bodies of men and
women. It was noted that his paintings are suggestive of Dante’s Divine Comedy, symbolic of the struggle of
human existence.
$ 12,500.00
CLASSIC EUROPEAN TEXT ON OPTICS
130. WITELO. Vitellionis . . . Peri optikes [Optica, in Greek], id est de natura, ratione, & proiectione radiorum
uisus, luminum, colorum atq[ue] formarum, quam uulgo perspectiuam vocant, libri X. . . . Nuremberg: Apud Io.
Petreium, 1535. Folio. Numerous woodcut illustrations. Four numbered leaves (following preliminaries) in
supurb facsimile on old paper. Full blindstamped calf in an antique style.
FIRST EDITION of the earliest treatise on optics written by a European, containing not only a summary
of all that was known on optics to the ancients and to Alhazen, but also some original investigations.
Witelo details the essential features of optical systems, including the theory of the nature of light, the
nature of radiation, light and color in straight or refracted lines, and the treatment of images in various
mirrors.
$ 40,000.00
REMINISCENT OF BYRNE’S EUCLID
131. YOUMANS, Edward L[ivingston]. Chemical atlas, or the chemistry of
familiar objects: exhibiting the general principles of the science in a series of beautifully
colored diagrams, and accompanied by explanatory essays embracing the latest views of the
subjects illustrated. New York: Appleton & Co., 1856. 4to. With 13 plates.
Original blind-stamped pebbled cloth.
FIRST EDITION (the sole change from the 1854 printing is the “6” in the
date) of a beautifully printed nineteenth-century American scientific atlas; the
elements and principles of chemistry are depicted by colored diagrams and
symbols. Youman’s book was a pioneering publication in the use of color to
convey quantitative information.
$ 4000.00
ADDENDUM
We are pleased to include with our exhibit a group of letters, manuscripts, photographs and other
documents from scientists (including many Nobel Prize winners), authors, politicians, and literary figures,
including Charcot, Darwin, Edward Teller, Arthur Eddington, George von Hevesy, Oliver Lodge, Aldous
Huxley, and President John Tyler.